AWARDS
STARTING STRONG Excellent facilities, small class sizes, outstanding teachers and specialised learning all add up to an exceptional early education
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hoosing a school can be an overwhelming decision for many parents. It doesn’t matter how many glossy prospectuses, websites and schools guides you wade through, you may well still feel burdened by the decision. When finalising this choice, it might be helpful to identify what’s important to you and your family and select a learning environment that offers the best fit for your child. Three of the schools below are finalists in the pre-prep category of the Independent Schools of the Year 2021, this magazine’s awards campaign, while Yorston Lodge Prep earned a finalist spot in the small school category. They all richly deserve their place on these shortlists. The schools all have distinct differences in their educational and wider offering, whether it’s the level of attention they pay to pastoral care; the immersive learning programmes experienced by pupils; the nurturing environment where each child’s talents are identified; or new initiatives as a result of numerous lockdowns where parents have become more involved in the day-to-day life of the school…
Polam Pre-Prep, Bedford, Milton Keynes
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independentschoolparent.com | AUTUMN 2021
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Occupying two large Victorian houses on a leafy avenue
in the heart of Bedford, Polam is a small pre-prep and nursery for children aged 12 months to seven years. The school prides itself on its home-from-home environment where every child is known by every member of staff with a distinct focus on pastoral care and wellbeing. As part of the Cognita Schools group, Polam takes part in Cognita’s annual Global Be Well Day. From this, the school developed its own Week to Be Well, which then blossomed into dedicated mental health activities becoming part of the weekly timetable. With a wellbeing champion in school, as well as a mental health first-aider, this reinforces the importance of pastoral care as the foundation that needs to underpin every aspect of education. With the appointment of a new headteacher a year ago, the school embarked on an immersive learning programme, transforming ordinary classrooms into themed, interactive learning spaces. Two rooms have since been completed: Discovery, a spacethemed IT suite, and Amazonia, a plant-fi lled rainforest room. Dressing classrooms with themed resources encourages the students to be absorbed and engaged, making their learning more purposeful – and of course, lots more fun! Having a unique, multipurpose space like Amazonia is a perfect environment to support wellbeing,
